At least 100 employees at HSBC Hong Kong are expected to be laid off in a downsizing of the bank’s compliance department, with some jobs moving to Guangzhou in mainland China as part of a cost-cutting measure.

More than 600 employees reportedly joined a video call on Monday morning, where management cited the need to maintain sustainable compliance costs, according to a source who did not wish to be named.

Staff from the external investigative reporting department will be the hardest hit, as it is expected to downsize by between 50% to 60%.

HSBC management have not disclosed the list of those laid off, nor the criteria that will be followed, according to the source who attended the meeting. Staff were told to be patient and that those affected would be compensated according to the established procedure.

Staff were also informed that internal vacancies were available and they were encouraged to apply, but the number of vacancies may not be sufficient to absorb all the layoffs.

EIR is a department responsible for ensuring compliance with anti-money laundering regulations. There were 500 staff working in this department three years ago, said the source, but that number has already been reduced to 200.

“Because the bank will migrate the department to Guangzhou, only 40% to 50% of the Hong Kong staff will be left,” the source said. “Actually, now, there are not enough people, our colleagues are working to death.”

The source “conservatively estimated” that the layoffs would affect more than 100 people.

A HSBC spokesperson declined to comment.

At the beginning of 2020, HSBC drew up plans to lay off 35,000 employees globally by the end of 2022, accounting for 15% of its workforce. CEO Noel Quinn said at the end of February this year that progress was good, and there was no need to update the target figure.

HSBC employed around 29,000 staff in Hong Kong at the end of 2020, with 7,925 working in its subsidiary Hang Seng Bank.

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